Is Thrombus with Subcutaneous Edema Detected by Ultrasonography Related to Short Peripheral Catheter Failure? A Prospective Observational Study

Short peripheral catheter (SPC) failure is an important clinical problem. The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between SPC failure and etiologies such as thrombus, subcutaneous edema, and catheter dislodgment using ultrasonography and to explore the risk factors associated with the etiologies. Two hundred catheters that were in use for infusion, excluding chemotherapy, were observed. Risk factors were examined by logistic regression analysis. Sixty catheters were removed as the result of SPC failure. Frequency of thrombus with subcutaneous edema in SPC failure cases was significantly greater than in those cases where therapy was completed without complications (P <.01). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that 2 or more insertion attempts were significantly associated with thrombus with subcutaneous edema. Results suggest that subsurface skin assessment for catheterization could prevent SPC failure.